The Twelve Steps:
A Guide for Living Faithfully
The Twelve Steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous
have served as a recovery
guide and “architecture for
living” for countless people
since their creation 66 years
ago. Though they were crafted originally for alcoholics,
these wise and simply-stated Steps have been anchors
for people overcome by addictions of all kinds. Friends
and family have also looked to them for life-saving guidance.
Through the months of 2005, your Faith Partners team
ministry at House of Hope will cover each of the Twelve
Steps and discuss their particular meaning to recovering
people of faith. Understanding these Steps—and their
carefully-crafted sequence—will give you a glimpse into
the miracle of recovery.
“Nothing will be impossible to you.”—Matthew 17:20
Step One: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol
—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Notice that the first step begins with “We,” not “I.”
This is an important distinction for people in recovery. It
underscores the importance of healthy community, recognizing
that people in recovery help each other get
well—and stay well.
All of us like to think that we have complete control
over our lives and that we manage very well, thank you.
People struggling with addiction are often talented,
resourceful, productive people. Admitting any shred of
powerlessness or unmanageability comes hard -- and
often slowly. But until that admission – and surrender –
happens, recovery cannot begin. While it may seem a
contradiction, surrender becomes power. The power to
ask for help from others. The power to ask for and
receive God’s help—daily, hourly. Every minute. The
power to transform a life and move a recovering person
to seek the higher self that he or she was always meant
to be.
In Step One, a recovering person of faith discovers
that when she admits her powerlessness and surrenders,
she begins the miraculous process of being freed from
her addiction. She becomes truly open to God’s leadership
in her life and to her own Divine Spark within. A
spark that was always there.
Addiction separates us from our highest good. It separates
us from God. Step One is the gateway to recovery:
discovering that our highest good becomes reality when
we allow God to manage our lives.
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind, that you may
prove the will of God, what is good and acceptable and
perfect.”—Romans 12:2
—Carol Pine, Co-Chair,
House of Hope Faith Partners Team Ministry
The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: A.A. World Services.
Inc. Copyright 1939
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